IMD issues 24-hr dust, thunderstorm warning in hill states

New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a mild thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the next 24 hours in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and its neighbouring hill states.

"In the next 24 hours, hill states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will continue to experience thunderstorms as they have experienced yesterday. The activity over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan will reduce as compared to yesterday," said KJ Ramesh, Director General, IMD.

A high-intensity dust storm hit New Delhi and Haryana on late Monday night.The high-speed winds hit the national capital and adjoining areas in NCR - including Gurgaon and Noida, prompting authorities to issue advisory.

Till date, as many as 124 people lost their lives due to high-intensity dust storms in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan earlier this week with the highest casualties in UP, where about 73 persons were killed.In Rajasthan, 35 persons were killed, while 209 were left injured.